A Looming Threat The sorceress Oria has finally come into her own—able to wield the power of her birthright and secure in the marriage she once believed would bring her only misery. But the past she escaped still chases her, and the certainty of war promises to destroy everything she’s fought to have.
An Impossible War Once before Lonen led an army in a desperate attempt to stop the powerfully murderous sorcerers of Bára—and he nearly lost everything. Now he must return to the battlefield that took the lives of so many of his people. Only this time he has more to risk than ever.
The Final Conflict With guile, determination—and unexpected allies—Oria and Lonen return to the place where it all began… and only hope that it won’t also be the end of them.
And then the end came. I do feel that this could have been a trilogy, but hey it works. Novellas are at least very fast to read.
Lonen and Oria are to be married. Lonen's ass of a brother has been take care of, but all is not as it seems. Oria has control of her powers and Chuffta is suddenly a very big dragon. All is well.
Except for evil sorcerers and Oria's evil brother destroying Lonen's people. You know what that means, waaaaar! Huh, I must say, that was not a long war. But it worked really well when I though about it. A fitting way to do it.
I mean this is a novella, I can not really say a lot. Wedding and war. Getting things on, getting things done.
A nice end to this series. This one felt very light in a way. It also made me even more curious about those evil Trom.
I have waited for this book since book 1 Lonen's War was released in the summer of 2016, I loved the characters, the story and the background but felt like each subsequent book did not give me that thrill I got from book 1 and it seemed our couple was never going to get anything but lives full of pain and betrayal.
Fortunately the story came back towards that great ending I expected in Oria's Enchantment and that ending was fulfilled in this final novel. The ending was a bit tortuous but the solution I thought I was going to see was far from the unique and original ending this story had for me. Since I am a bit of a revenge junkie, Jeffe Kennedy has cheated me a couple of times but not this time.
The action was done well, the intrigue was done well and the multi-layered ending was great, my only complaint which is minor since our hero IS a barbarian of sorts is that he could not seem to keep his mind off sex for more than a few minutes if he was not fighting, this resulted in me scanning through a few of those scenes. The ending while satisfying was lacking a few minor details I might have wanted to know about in some of the secondary characters but at the end I was happy and satisfied with the conclusion to this series.
This was a lovely wrap up to the series. Or, to put it another way that feels much more accurate, Lonen’s Reign provides the concluding chapters to this lovely fantasy romance.
That’s a hint, by the way. The Sorcerous Moons series reads way more like a single book split into chunks than it does a series of individual books. It only works if you read from the beginning. Every time I get a new “chapter” I find myself reading the synopses and my reviews of the previous books to catch myself up – even if it hasn’t been all that long since the previous book.
All the action in this book rests on what came before. Which is fitting for the concluding “chapter” of an epic (in scope if not in length) saga.
This is also the point where the story comes full circle. We began, in Lonen’s War, with then-Prince Lonen and his Destrye attacking the stronghold of their enemies, the Bara. Where Lonen discovers a disregarded Princess Oria imprisoned in her tower by her own weaknesses.
Oria finds herself the only functioning member of the Baran royal house, and brokers a peace treaty between her people and the Destrye – only to have that well-thought out and surprisingly well-working peace broken the moment her brother wakes up and forcibly takes the crown.
From that point forward, the story moves back and forth between Destrye and Bara, as Oria discovers the depths to which her own people have sunk – and the desperation that has forced Lonen’s people to rise and strike back.
Along the way, Oria discovers that all of the prohibitions, weaknesses and fears that have held her back are a tissue of lies and misdirections. And Oria and Lonen make a marriage of state and convenience that turns into so much more.
This is the point where the finally undisputed King of the Destrye, and his newly anointed Queen Oria risk everything they have on one final gamble against the heavily fortified and magically defended Bara – in the hopes of saving both their peoples.
All of their people. On both sides.
Escape Rating B+: I’m kind of reviewing the whole series at this concluding point. Because this book really doesn’t make much sense on its own, it feels necessary to look at the series as a whole.
At the same time, I have to say that Lonen’s Reign feels like a fitting conclusion to the saga begun in Lonen’s War – and it feels equally fitting that both the first and the last book are titled after him. He began the action at the outset, followed by Oria’s reaction in Oria’s Gambit, followed by two middle books, then Oria’s finally coming into her own power in Oria’s Enchantment and now we sit at the conclusion.
The two sides began at war, not that the Barans would have considered their actions warlike. Bara used to be a lush paradise, but the climate changed and their city turned into a desert. Instead of adapting, they used magic as well as engineering to steal water from the lands that surrounded them, making even more desert. Eventually they reached the lands of the distant Destrye, absolutely certain that their magical might gave them the right to strip those lands of their water and kill anyone who fought back.
Lonen brought the war home to them. And left with the prize and pride of Bara, Princess Oria. As they fell in love, it gave her strength of will, and the desperate determination to reach beyond everything that she had been taught. She had to in order to survive – and to be able to do the right thing.
Oria grounded Lonen, giving him the wisdom to become the king his people needed, in spite of the betrayals he suffered at home.
Their union, which does indeed become the love story for the ages as I said in my review of Lonen’s War, provides a path forward for both of their peoples, who have now become one.
In some ways, the story in Lonen’s Reign feels as if it is missing a few bits – almost all of the backstory is in their earlier books.
Because I really enjoy worldbuilding, it also felt as if Oria’s final revelations – the climate change, the resulting subjugation and despoiling of a wider and wider swath of territory, and, most of all, the way that magic as practiced in Bara became ossified in a way that almost literally set their people, and particularly the women, into stone that preserved the predatory status quo – got a bit of a short shrift. I’d love to know more about how it happened.
Maybe that’s another book sometime in the future.
Lonen’s Reign turned out to be a quick and mostly satisfying wrap-up to a fascinating fantasy romance series. I’m looking forward to both the author’s eventual return to the awesome Twelve Kingdoms series – because that is edging towards its final confrontation – and to her new fantasy romance series, beginning with The Orchid Throne later this year.
I discovered Jeffe Kennedy through a blog tour and I looked up some of her books on Amazon. Since I love reading reviews, but have a habit of reading the bad reviews first, which I think is a detriment to me because those reviews have kept me from purchasing a few of the books I was interested in. Well, anyway I signed up for Jeffe Kennedy's newsletter and received a complimentary book. The book was Lonen's War and thus began my journey on a wonderful adventure.
I'm going to try to sum up all 6 books in this review. Please forgive me it I fall short in some way. Jeffe Kennedy took us on a journey in the Sorcerous Moons series; a journey of love, adventure, intrigue, magic, vengeance, and restoration. Lonen and Oria were wonderful characters and I loved the banter between them. The author did a good job of showing how Lonen and Oria's love grew over time and how that created a strong bond between them.
Their relationship was unique in many ways and I wish I could say more, but I fear I would be giving too much away. What I will say is that the intimacy and sex, especially the first love scene, was done in an outstanding way and cemented the couple's bond. I also think Jeffe Kennedy is a genius in how she wrote that scene. The magic that Oria possessed, the mystery of the Trom and the mystery of the Ponen made this an exceptional series.
For those readers who don't like cliffhangers, this series may not be for you, but I would urge you to give it a chance because you will not be disappointed. To Jeffe Kennedy, I'm now a fan and I hope you will give us readers more Lonen and Oria. I want to know to know what happens to Gallia! I would love for her to get her own story. Will Salaya get a story too? I think the Sorcerous Moon series is a saga, not a series, because I feel there are more stories to be told.
As I close out this review, I don't think I adequately explained or conveyed how awesome, amazing, and beautiful this series is. If you love fantasy, romance, magic, and dragons, this series is for you. If you are new to fantasy and romance then this series is a great place to start with this genre.
What a happy sad moment to finish this final book of the Sorcerous Moons series. I have had such a good time getting to know Oria and Lonen, seeing them evolve, grow their relationship, and win the trust of two races of people.
In Lonen's Reign, Lonen is recovering from his battle with his brother, Nolan, over the right to rule the Destrye. As Lonen recuperates, and Oria is still working to master her power, he is finally taking the mantle of leadership over his people. I loved seeing him grump around about the time it was taking for him to marry Oria in the ways of his people, and finally consummate his marriage. I was so happy that Oria and Lonen could finally touch in this last book! The anticipation has been building for the whole series, and while I loved Jeffe's creativity for their intimacy in prior books, there is something to be said for skin privileges!
But all is not love and monarchy in this book, Oria and Lonen are still planning to rescue the Bara and unite their people. So there are battle plans, battles, and a few surprises in store. What will happen when Oria and Yar go toe-to-toe, and what's with the Trom and their dragons? Those are the big questions to be answered, and not everything came out as I expected!
My favorite character continued to be Chuffta and his Derkesthai brethren. Everyone should know my love for dragons by now... but sentient dragons with humorous personalities are even better. Chuffta brought light and levity to the story, and his relationship with Oria was something special.
Jeffe Kennedy does fantasy romance right, and I will read every book she puts in this genre. If you are a fan of these types of stories, you can't go wrong with one of her books. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the author.
4.5 stars Lonen’s Reign is the final book in Jeffe Kennedy’s Sorcerous Moons series. We’ve followed Oria and Lonen throughout the series of novella length stories. They finally will get their HEA, but their journey was not an easy one.
It’s wonderful seeing both of these characters grow as they have, throughout the series. They took their marriage, that was originally meant to stop a war, to grow into a loving couple willing to do whatever it took to keep each other and their people safe.
I really enjoyed this series, which is a pretty quick read, with each book being only a novella length of less than 300 pages each. It has some great characters I feel in love with. I really was rooting for Oria and Lonen throughout the story. The side characters are also something you root for. My favorite secondary human is Lonen’s brother, Arnon. He’s an engineering nerd and I just love him for it. I also love Chuffta, Oria’s dragon familiar. He’s very snarky.
If you like fantasy stories with magic, dragons, golems, plus wars between groups with romance, this is a fun series. And the covers are amazing. I love them all. I can’t wait to see what Ms. Kennedy has up next. Oh, that’s the Forgotten Empires series. **excited dance**
**Book was provided to me by the author. This review is my opinion and was not requested or provoked in anyway by the author.
Okay, I fell HARD into this series! Though it followed the classic YA fiction feel and story arch, it just had a kind of heart that I often find missing in other series of its kind. I LOVE these characters, especially Chuffta. I know they aren’t the most fleshed out characters in the world, these aren’t long books, but the author does better than many. The main couple is forced together by circumstance, but it is still by their own free will that they choose eachother, each giving up the future they had envisioned for themselves for the compromise. This book is a romance, and after my ranting about the gratuitous sex scenes in my last fantasy series, I can say that this one did it better. Not only were they better written into the story, but out main couple here has some serious hurdles to overcome to consummate their love, their partnership, and if they wish to have heirs. As someone who has a disability I do find it charming that both characters were willing to talk things through and find creative ways to be together. Its refreshing to see this trope used without the grumpy “I don’t want to talk about it” partner. Everything always feels consensual and mutually desired. Still laughed over a few of the words used to describe body parts, but hey, she wrote 6 books and had to keep things interesting 😉 Fairly mild spice on the spicy meter. If it was a Mexican restaurant it would probably be 🌶️ or 🌶️🌶️
Far too much time was spent on needless descriptions of random things or on unimportant things and not enough on the plot and political intrigue and everything else that was going along. I feel like most of this book should have been dealing with her brother and the political stuff with that regard especially after it was completely ignored for the past two to three books. Not really impressed and I don't really think I would recommend it to anybody but it was a quick read.
Alright, I kinda savored this one a bit since it was the last in the series.
I cant say it disappoints, it doesn't, it wraps everything up in a tidy little bow and leaves you wishing for a little more than just a teeny epilogue.
This series was fun, beautifully written, and definitely worth a spot on your shelf!!!
This is a fabulous ending. I loved the twists and turns! Oria comes into her own and she is absolutely amazing. I adore how all the loose ends finally come together in this novel. It's definitely been a wild ride of a series, and this ending is most satisfactory.
I am coming to love Jeffe Kennedy! This series created rich characters (flawed, brave, insecure, relatable), a rich and lush setting so clearly defined I could see it in my mind, and a sensual, engaging story I raced through with a hunger to be a part of what happened next! The only thing I would point out is that as much as I loved the books, story and vocabulary; the numerous spelling and grammar errors were slightly aggravating for me. I am not a grammar master either, but it was bad enough to make the books catch here and there instead of being smooth reading at times. Otherwise, I am looking forward to the next set of books I will definitely start soon!
LONEN’S REIGN is the final book in the Sorcerous Moons series by fantasy author Jeffe Kennedy. Coming in at 151 ebook pages as per Goodreads, this is a quick wrap up to the story of sorceress Ora from the kingdom of Bára and her husband Lonen, the new barbarian king of Dru. I’ve followed as Oria figured out how her people imprisoned her, literally and knowledge-wise, and I love how she’s coming into her own. She’s figured out how to flex her magical muscles and it’s very empowering.
This has been a fun series, and Kennedy’s world of magic and warring kingdoms is fascinating. It will be a pleasure to see where Kennedy turns her attention to next in the large Twelve Kingdoms world for her next series focus. Kennedy’s LONEN’S REIGN brings us a happy conclusion to warring magical kingdoms and leaves us with a king and queen happily in love and in lust.